Christmas has one true hero, and that’s you. It’s you and me. We’re the people who help to tell stories and to bring Christmas alive. It’s these stories that we tell and show others that spread the key messages of Christmas, it’s a time to celebrate being with families, friends, and others around us. It’s about happiness, togetherness, and joy. Santa Claus has always been the magical figurehead of Christmas because he encapsulates all of those qualities, and over the years we’ve had characters such as Scrooge and the Grinch to test these qualities and asks whether anyone can be redeemed over Christmas. So do they?
Santa Claus has been played by dozens of iconic actors over the years, from Richard Attenborough to Tim Allen to most recently by Kurt Russell in The Christmas Chronicles on Netflix. Every actor brings something new to the character, whether it's swagger, prosperity, knowledge, resilience or humour, and over time these new qualities pass over into the next iteration of the character. Is Santa real? Who knows, as Adults, we are skeptics, as Children we are believers, but it doesn’t matter if you believe him or not?
Santa is in all of us, take for example the Tim Allen film, The Santa Clause. In that film Tim Allen plays a normal person, Scott Calvin, and his transition to being the next Santa Claus. This proves that Santa is more of a mantle than a person and proves what I was saying, that Santa is in all of us, we need to find it in each other. The moment we believe is the moment children believe. Astonishment is such a wonderful thing and watching adults and children watch in disbelief as a fictional character comes alive is always a marvel to see, even in films such as Elf and Miracle on 34th Street.
Why would someone want to take away the spirit of Christmas? That’s what Dr Seuss asked when writing How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. It later got turned into two different theatrical films, with Jim Carrey and Benedict Cumberbatch in the roles of the Grinch. He’s a grouchy creature who hates people, and yet he’s also the hero of the story. The thing that brings the Grinch to realise how important Christmas is, is that he discovers the power of Christmas and what it means to everyone.
In this respect, the Grinch isn’t exactly a Villain, but more of a misunderstood being. It’s something that is relatable, and if you don’t like Christmas then maybe you should give one of the Grinch films a try and see if it changes your mind.
Don’t be a Scrooge. Ba, humbug! You ever heard of those phrases before? They’re not exactly terms of endearment, they’re what you’re told if you ever say anything bad about Christmas. I think everyone who knows Christmas knows who Scrooge is. Charles Dickens really did create a classic when he wrote A Christmas Carol. It has been turned into a countless amount of films and television shows. There’s even a Muppet film about it! Scrooge is the real villain when it comes to Christmas. He has no good qualities and appears to be redeemable. Then comes three ghosts of Christmas and suddenly you see Scrooge for who he truly is, he’s a human.
That’s how we’re going to end the final blog of the year.
We’re only human at heart, and we aren’t perfect. We can act like a Scrooge at times, and other times feel like a Grinch, but where there’s a Grinch there’s also a Santa. In cinematic history, Santa has always been the hero of Christmas. He brings joy, laughter and the gift of bringing everyone together for one day of the year.
Thanks for taking time to ready my blog today. May the past be remembered, the future to be enlightened and to enjoy the present. Merry Christmas and I’ll be back in the new year with a new blog in the Heroes & Villains series!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
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